Once More, With Feeling
by TheRazzleDazzleDame
Summary: What happens when Scorpion's the one who needs protection? Sequel to Walking Kontradiction Chap. 8 re-done
1. Room mates

(This is a sequel, so you'll have to read _Walking Kontradiction_ before this one. Sorry! :D Also, again there is no real time arch to this, so don't expect an explanation to when this takes place. It's AU because I'm lazy and not feeling all too creative. Enjoy.)

I don't own anything that is not mine.

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Chapter One: Room mates

To say he was bored was probably saying too much, but it was as good as any way to describe someone sitting against a large rock staring at the sky, wishing he had something to do. To be more specific, wishing he had some sort of lead on the whereabouts of a certain sorcerer. Strike that-- either one of the two sorcerers he knew of.

He felt a frown tug at his lips as the very thought of such scum entered his mind. The frown deepened as he (almost) morbidly realized how he had not found said scum. Of course, there was no real way to find them when he was stuck in the Nether realm. The specter laid back harder against the boulder and allowed himself to relax. He had been traveling for days without stopping. The thought of a dead man tiring made no sense, but it just so happened to be possible.

Within a few moments the ninja had found himself in a quiet sort of meditation. It was honestly the nicest rest he had had in a while. And even though Scorpion knew the Nether realm was no place for rest, there he was, resting. He knew he needed to get up and keep moving, but his body wasn't going to do anything but lay against the boulder behind it.

Also, the thought of a certain brat kept making itself painfully known.

"She's not here," Scorpion hissed under his breath as he forced his eyes open. He wasn't going there again, he vowed not to. It was completely useless; a waste of time.

But that didn't stop him from recalling that a whole two months had gone by since she had left.

"Son of a bitch." Scorpion forcefully slammed his head into the rock behind him. The pain didn't help like he thought it would, but it did a good enough job. The Shirai-Ryu stood, glad to be rid of stupid thoughts for the moment. Scorpion began walking again when something hard hit the back of his head, causing him to fall face first to the ground.

Before he knew it, he was out cold.

Two figures stood over the ninja's unconscious form. One had some sort of club attached to his hand while the other was hunched over. Neither really looked human.

"I hope that damn sorcerer keeps his word," the one with the club hissed, absently stroking said weapon.

The other snorted something close to a laugh. "That was too easy. Maybe Shang Tsung was right." Moloch gave the other an amused glance.

Drahmin shrugged. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

Scorpion awoke after what felt like hours. The specter sat up, feeling a sudden rush of paranoia. He couldn't remember anything after he had stopped to rest. He cursed under his breath-- why had he been so stupid? If he wouldn't have stopped he wouldn't have...

Scorpion looked around to see where he actually was. Where was he? It was some sort of bed chamber. It was distantly familiar to him; he had been there before. But when? Scorpion studied the light blue sheets on the bed and the strangely colored pillows.

_"Except my pillows. They're probably my favorite things in my room."_

Scorpion felt the color leave his face. He absently looked at the only lamp in the room by the bed on the night stand. He was in her room.

But she wasn't there. Scorpion glanced at the window, noticing how bright it was outside. The ninja growled as he squinted. He stood and headed for the window's curtains. After blocking the blinding light, Scorpion stood in the middle of the room, racking his brain. How had he managed to end up in Erren's room?

Scorpion sighed as he ran his hand over his head, which was killing him for some reason...

* * *

Erren felt someone touch her shoulder and she jumped. She turned to see friend Alexis. Sighing, Erren gained her composure.

"Erren, why are you jumpy all of a sudden? Well, I mean, not _all_ of a sudden, but..." Alexis stopped when she saw Erren's irritated face.

"I'm not. It's just..." Erren sighed again and brushed her bangs back out of her face. "Ah, I don't know. You know how weird I am."

Alexis frowned as she watched her friend wave it off. "Seriously Erren. You've been acting weird for a while now. Did something happen to you?"

Erren chanced a glance at her friend-- a mistake on her part. Alexis was pretty much the opposite of Erren. Strong, outspoken and loud. Sometimes so loud in fact it hurt Erren's ears. The girl had killer lungs.

Alexis stared Erren down, making sure she saw the threat in her eyes. "You can talk if you want, ya know." Erren laughed, trying not to sound nervous.

"...There's nothing wrong and nothing happened."

Erren broke her gaze with the other girl as she peered down at the brightly colored tiled floor. She quietly prayed that the last period of the day would zip by. Her friends had been noticing how much more reclusive she was becoming and were asking questions. Erren couldn't even begin to explain to them what was "wrong".

Luckily Alexis stopped asking questions and the last class of the day went by fairly quick.

Erren smiled at her friends as they waved bye. She hated to see them worried about her but she couldn't help it. When she first woke up after she entered the portal, she at first thought she was going crazy after everything was finished two months ago. She woke up in her bed, wondering why she was there and not in the fantasy land she had just been in. Erren then thought it was all a dream, feeling extremely relieved.

Then she went to take a shower and saw a few cuts and bruises on her body. She cried in the shower.

After that she hadn't exactly been the same. Erren had gotten better since then, it had been two months after all. And, thankfully, she didn't see her parents enough for them to notice anything.

Erren walked into her empty drive-way and headed straight for the door. It had for some reason been an extremely long day and she felt exhausted. She dropped her bag in the kitchen and automatically started toward her room, ignoring all of her supplies spilling out on the floor. She was so tired all of a sudden and didn't know why. Well, she didn't really care, either. The teen groggily stepped up the stairs and eventually fumbled to her room. She opened the door, happy to see her bed, and stepped in.

Then she heard him-- a small, sharp intake of breath on the other side of the room. Erren jerked her head toward her closet door and felt her throat close on her. He was there. For real.

Scorpion was staring at her, wide-eyed and perfectly still. He wasn't even breathing as far as she could tell..

"Why..?" She asked quietly. Erren herself had no idea where the question came from, her lips just moved on their own. "Why are you here?"

Scorpion seemed to remember to breathe and inhaled. Besides that, he did nothing.

Erren blinked a few times before feeling her eyes sting. Great, she had started to cry. She had no idea why, either.

End of Chapter One

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(Yes, I know that Drahmin and Moloch are the ones who helped out Quan Chi escape the Netherealm in _Deception_, but I'm shamelessly using them. Shamelessly. ;D And as always, typos are always apologized for in advance.)

(And a million apologies for puttin' this up twice!)

Red


	2. Realization

(Thank you who reviewed/read the first chapter. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.)

(I forgot to add this in the first chapter but, this story is for my friend _enishi's highschool sweetheart_.)

I don't own anything that is not mine.

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Chapter Two: Realization

Scorpion could only stare at the girl in front of him. In fact, he had forgotten to breathe for a few seconds. Scorpion hadn't a clue why, either. Sure, he had found himself missing her a few times but nothing unbearable. And why was she crying? Surely she wouldn't have missed _him_…

…Unless she was crying _because_ she didn't want to see him. That made a hell of a lot more sense. The ninja, after assuming the latter to be true, felt a sudden anger start to burn in him. It wasn't as if he had asked to be there with her. Hell, if he had had it his way he'd never see the brat again. Whoever had put him there was dead; it was just the matter of getting back to his respectable place and finding said soon to be dead person.

Scorpion sighed, glad to break the strange silence and looked at Erren. Hopefully the brat would say something. When nothing was said, the Shirai-Ryu growled. The child was ridiculously annoying.

"Why the hell are you crying?" Scorpion didn't know why his tone was so harsh, but he felt like not caring. This _wasn't_ his fault. He'd be damned if he was to blame.

Erren took a deep yet shaky breath, then opened her mouth to speak. "Shouldn't _I_ be the one asking questions?" The teen ran one of her hands through her messy hair - which had gotten longer, Scorpion noticed - and closed her eyes. Scorpion was slightly surprised by how…different she sounded. It was almost as if she was mad. Of course, Scorpion didn't give a damn if she was angry or not. She had no reason to be as far as he was concerned.

"This isn't my fault," Scorpion ground out. He was getting angrier by the second; no help from the brat by any means. The girls' eyes shot open, revealing a new set of tears. Great, he had made her cry -

"I didn't say it _was_…" She paused, seeming to gain her composure. "Can't you go back?"

Honestly, the question hurt. Maybe not the question itself, but the way she had asked it. Scorpion didn't even stop and think about what he was about to say, he just spoke. "Do you not want me here _that _much?" Scorpion gasped and almost threw his hand over his mouth. Of course, that would have been _too_ uncharacteristic. He had already show enough emotion - besides anger - for one day. Hell, for a whole damn year.

Without skipping a beat, Erren replied with, "No." After she said the word however, she had the same reaction Scorpion had a few seconds earlier, except she actually placed a hand over her mouth. Erren swallowed hard and did her best to look at Scorpion in the face. "I didn't mean…"

"No, I'm fairly sure you did." Scorpion glared at the wall to his left. He couldn't look at her; there was no way he could look at her at that moment.

Erren sighed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "No, I didn't. I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"All the more proof that you meant it." Scorpion slowly turned his gaze at Erren. He was in no mood to be…toyed with. The specter began to feel less like talking and more like leaving. There was no way he could have done that, though. Not that he wanted to see the girl ever again, he just thought that since he was there he might could have a somewhat pleasant - as pleasant as Scorpion could manage, anyway - visit. Scorpion frowned. He wasn't making sense…

"Scorpion," Erren started, staring at the space a few inches away from the ninja's feet. Scorpion didn't say anything - the brat needed to hurry up. She was pissing him off. Finally though, the girl continued.

"I just thought that.." A shaky breath was inhaled before finishing the sentence. "…I'd see you again, or that you weren't real. So.." She stopped and pulled her right arm to her left and began rubbing her slender fingers over pale skin.

Scorpion cocked an eyebrow. "So..?" Whatever game she was playing was only making him angrier as it went on. He didn't even know why he was standing there, listening to her.

"Can't you see where…I'm coming from..? I guess I'm just freaking out." The teen licked her lips - an incredibly annoying habit she had - and set her eyes on Scorpion's chest. The girl, even while clearly ignorant, drove Scorpion crazy. The dead warrior shook his head almost violently before verbalizing an answer.

"In other words, you see me as a nuisance? Something that you can safely ignore and tuck away." Scorpion wanted to stop, by the Elder gods he would have given anything to stop. But he couldn't. "I see exactly where you're coming from. I wouldn't want _me _either."

That was where he would have wanted to stop. He thought he was stronger than that. Emotions were things he thought held no real meaning anymore. Scorpion felt his fists clench and his fingers dig into his skin. What was wrong with him? His chest was burning, but not in it's usual anger filled way. His breathing was quick and he was covered in a cold sweat. There was a constant haziness in his mind that caused him to physically sway, something Scorpion noticed as he took a step forward to keep him balance.

"…Scorpion," Erren whispered. Scorpion continued to glare at the floor, pretending not to hear her. He was too worked up to settle down so quickly. The ninja had no idea why he allowed himself to get to that point; he usually had more control. Not much, but more than he had had at that moment.

Scorpion didn't hear the quiet foot-steps until they stopped. The ninja specter looked down to see two green eyes staring apologetically at him. Shocked by the unexpected closeness, the man jumped back, only managing to hit a wall that was directly behind him. Scorpion stared helplessly forward. Why was he acting so strange? It was as if his reactions toward the girl had gotten worse since the last time they had seen each other. The thought was honestly terrifying. Scorpion lost control when she was close before, so if it had gotten worse…

Erren awkwardly pulled her hands from her sides and began reaching out towards Scorpion. The Shirai-Ryu heard himself gasp and pull back as far as his body could go. The wall behind him surrendered nothing at all, leaving Scorpion where he was. After that he froze in place. Why couldn't he move? Scorpion felt his chest heaving as he fought for breath. What the hell was happening to him?

End of Chapter Two

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(…Not the longest of chapters…:x Yeah, it seemed longer when it was on notebook paper. Anyway, I hope you found something about it that you liked, and will be wanting to read more of it. :D Again, thank you.)

Red


	3. Reaction

(Thanks for the reviews! I'm actually surprised anyone likes this story. :x)

I don't own anything that isn't mine.

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Chapter Three: Reaction

Erren could not believe what she was seeing. Scorpion was practically cowering before her touch. What was wrong? Something seemed…off. The man had always acted strange toward her, but never as bad as Erren was seeing right then. The teen put her hands back to her sides and watched as Scorpion physically relaxed. Well, only slightly. His breath was still quick, like he was having a hard time getting air. That worried Erren more than she wished it did. Surely it was nothing to actually worry about.

"What's wrong?" She squeaked out. God, that was humiliating. Why did she squeak?

Scorpion took a couple of deep breaths, then answered. "I..I don't know." He paused, placing a hateful glare on his face. "It's nothing."

Erren was already angry at him, why did he say things like that? It wasn't Scorpion's fault he was there, but he wasn't helping with his less than cheerful attitude. Erren wasn't exactly sure why she was upset in the first place, actually. She just thought that she'd never see Scorpion again and she was fine with that. The teen looked up at the ninja clutching his head and felt overwhelmingly sorry for him. Erren's eyes widened in realization as she continued to stare at the man.

_Scorpion _wasn't fine with not seeing her. Erren couldn't understand why that was. She was nobody, an almost complete stranger. Why did he have feelings for someone he had barely known? And why someone so useless? Erren wasn't exactly the image of relationship material. She was shy, quiet, and easily hurt - any word that was along the lines of weak and Erren could be described easily. Scorpion didn't need her.

"_Damn_," Scorpion managed to pant out. His breathing was only getting faster. Erren felt horrible for not even paying attention. Of course, what cold _she _do to help? The teen frantically began to search the room for something to help the situation.

After searching and realizing nothing in her room was going to help in any way - not even her inhaler - Erren decided on trying a different approach. She stood as tall as she could so she could actually look in Scorpion's eyes and achieve eye contact. Erren then took a deep breath and began what she hoped was going to help.

"Breathe with me, slowly.." Erren said as evenly as she could. At first, Scorpion seemed to get worse, and Erren nearly lost her cool. She then began to talk again, which calmed her down. After a few more moments of the strange exercise Scorpion was breathing properly. The man fell against the wall behind him and shut his eyes. Erren knelt down in front of him, worry filling her with horrible thoughts.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she absently placed her hand on the bare part of his face. Erren gasped and quickly withdrew her hand. His skin was _hot_. She had forgotten about that…The teen instantly felt bad for her reaction when she noticed Scorpion's eyebrows twitch. Why was she so insensitive? Well, in her defense Scorpion wasn't the most sensitive person who lived…

Scorpion let his head fall back. "Yeah," was all he said. Erren had no idea what was wrong, but she had the sinking feeling she was the cause of it. What she had said earlier…she didn't mean it, not really. She still felt bad for it, though. She could have thought about what she was going to say before she said it. Scorpion clearly had feelings for her. She just didn't feel the same towards him, so what she said had more of an affect than she thought.

"I'm sorry." Erren said, feeling tears sting her eyes again. God she hated crying.

Scorpion opened his eyes and slowly lowered his head. "Don't. Just…don't." Erren noticed how quiet his voice was and blinked back more tears. Did she really have that much of a hold on him? It was odd to think she had any sort of affect on anyone. Well, besides making people angry. She had a natural born talent of doing that.

Erren felt awful for what had happened before when Scorpion made his feelings toward her clear. She couldn't see any kind of relationship working out between them. Erren had the feeling Scorpion wasn't human - he had said he wasn't alive, which wasn't exactly humanly possible. Then there was the matter of age. She had no idea how old he was, but she had a sinking feeling it was old enough for a relationship to turn illegal. Erren didn't know if where Scorion came from had age laws or not but she wasn't going to chance it.

Of course, Erren found herself not really caring about laws. She honestly felt uncomfortable being attractive to older men. Scorpion was no pervert by any means; if anything he was cold to her. The thought freaked her out too much, though, so she couldn't return Scorpion's feelings. That was pretty much the only reason she wouldn't allow herself to get caught up in any "moments".

Also, there was the whole different dimension thing to consider. That took long distance relationship to a whole new level.

Erren looked down at the ninja sitting on her floor in front of her. Why did he like her? It was a question that Erren had asked herself a dozen times but could never even think of an answer. Not even a stupid answer. The thought boggled her mind. Of all the people Scorpion had met, why her? She was the most boring person to walk the planet. She wasn't active in any kind of sport or club and she had no talent for anything. She didn't see herself as good looking. Of course everyone around her disagreed with her. But friends and family always did that.

So what was it? There was no logical explanation to it. Erren took a seat at the edge of her bed and sucked in a deep breath. She would have to do it, and that moment seemed to be a good time to ask.

"Why do you…" She started, but couldn't think of how to finish the question. Feeling completely stupid, she desperately searched for the right words. Scorpion only sat silently - Erren didn't look at him directly for fear of even more embarrassment. Finally, after a good minute of thinking, she found the words. She was surprised Scorpion hadn't said anything. Usually he would have growled something, ruining any chances of finding the right words.

"Why do you like me?" Yeah. After all that time thinking, that was the _best _she came up with. What was this? The third grade? Erren waited breathlessly for some sort of response. Actually, she found herself not wanting one…

Scorpion blinked a few good times. Did she just ask what he thought she asked? He hadn't heard a question like that since he was a young boy. He looked at the girl and was hoping to see a sign of laughter in her face. There was none. So, Scorpion decided to laugh for her. When he finished, he looked up at Erren, making sure he had her attention. Like laughing hadn't done that.

"I can't answer that," Scorpion admitted. He tried not to laugh again. It was strange what made him laugh could very easily make him mad. Scorpion heard a light thump noise and instantly moved his eyes to the bed.

"I'm sorry…that was _such_ a stupid question…" Erren groaned through her hands. The teen had fallen on her back and was covering her face with her hands; well, soon to be pillow. The girl's pale fingers seemed to brighten against the rich red fabric. The small piece of furniture was shaped like some sort of flower with a black circle in the center of it. Why Scorpion was studying a pillow was beyond him. But it was better than him fighting for air.

Why the hell did he do that? Not that he could control it, but it was so…weak. He had never done something like that before. Surely the brat hadn't caused it, she had touched him before and he hadn't reacted that ..violently. Maybe violently wasn't the word - strangely would describe it almost perfectly. Of course, as Scorpion thought back on the incident, it did seem somewhat violent. He couldn't move or even breathe. The feeling was suffocating.

"Are you okay now? You're…not hurt or anything?" Erren's voice jerked Scorpion out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw she was sitting up again, hugging the flower shaped pillow. The ninja tried his damnedest not to smile - not that she could see it. She could probably tell somehow or another, though.

"I'm fine," he said as harshly as he could, which wasn't very harsh. He wasn't angry for some reason, something that bothered him more than the fact that he had just had a panic attack.

End of Chapter Three

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(I promise this story will get somewhere, I just can't promise how soon. The drama will, ur, not be so dramatic..? Yeah, right. I'm such a little girl! ;D)

See you next chapter! (Mebeh)

Red


	4. Cool

(Happy Birthday to me! ...I'm a dork. But it is my eighteenth year to be living, so I think that calls for _some_ sort of celebration, right? ..Anyway, back to what's important. Thank you all again for reviewing! You people are awesome, seriously.)

I don't own anything that is not mine.

Chapter Four: Cool

Erren happened to glance at her alarm clock, trying to find something to do besides stare at Scorpion. She had to admit however that his clothes were awesome…

The teen's eyes widened as she dropped her pillow. It was already five thirty, meaning her parents would be home soon. Erren stood from her bed, almost falling to her knees onto the floor, and began nervously pacing the room. What was she going to do with her "visitor"? If either of her parents saw him in her room…Ah, she didn't even want to think about it. Her dad was the scariest person she knew. Erren felt Scorpion's eyes on her, and turned to face him.

She didn't expect to turn around and _hit_ him. Erren screamed - a short scream, of course - and stepped back all while clutching her racing heart. She gave herself a moment to regain her composure. Well, she _tried_ anyway. Scorpion scared her again by growling at her. God, why did he do that?

"What's wrong?" He asked. Erren noticed how much nicer his actual voice sounded than the growl he had just made. He still sounded mean, but not _hateful _like he usually did. The teen had noticed the difference earlier, too. Scorpion wasn't acting normal at all. It sort of made Erren nervous.

"My - my parents will be home soon, and I don't know what to _do _with you." Erren felt her heart slow down and she sighed in relief. Good, she _wasn't _having a heart attack. Scorpion seemed to be thinking when Erren raised her head back up. She waited quietly until he finally spoke, not wanting to break his concentration.

"I'll just hide in the closet," was his simple solution. Erren had been so freaked that she hadn't even thought of that. Feeling rather dumb, she stared at the floor and tried to think of something to come back with that didn't sound _completely _dumb.

"Oh, yeah." Erren swore at that moment that she was the world's biggest moron. She said those two words in the most monotone voice, like she was some loser who didn't have enough mind to think on her own. Why? Why was she stupid?

Scorpion, thankfully oblivious to Erren's personal woes, was staring at the girl's double-door closet. Erren didn't know why she was feeling so self conscious. Yes, she always felt self conscious, but when she was with Scorpion it seemed to get worse somehow. Maybe she was just imagining it. It wasn't _that _big a deal to even notice.

"When will they be here exactly?" He asked. Erren paused before answering - she had to think aobut it. What was wrong with her? "Abut ten more minutes and they'll be home."

Without a word, Scorpion turned to the closet door closest to him and opened it. Erren watched quietly as he examined it's contents. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. The teen felt her face burn as she took an absent step forwar. He was looking through her stuff!

"Uh, w-wait a minute…" She stammered out as she took another step forward. "What are you doing?" She almost flinched when Scorion turned around to face her. His eyes were narrowed to the point where they looked closed.

"I'm making room. What the hell good would it do for me to look through your things?" The man's voice was nothing more than a drawn out sigh. Erren felt her body relax slightly as he turned back to the closet. It wasn't that she didn't trust Scorpion, it was just that it was weird to have someone go rummaging through her closet. Erren heard the front door open and she frantically looked at Scorpion's back. She knew he knew that her parents were home but…she freaked out…

…and shoved Scorpion into the closet, shortly shutting the door behind him. Just as she took her hand off the handle, her door opened and Erren spun around to see her mother's head poking in. She looked cheerful, a good sign.

"Hey sweetie, can you find something to eat tonight? Your father and I are going out to eat." Erren nodded in a zombie-like manner and her mother smiled at her. "Call us if you need anything, ok?" With that, her mother shut the door. Erren waited till she heard the front door open and close before she even faced the closet.

Erren slowly wrapped her hand around the closet door handle and held her breath. "It's like pulling off a band-aid," she thought as she yanked the door open. The teen was surprised to see no one in the closet. For a brief moment she thought maybe Scorpion had gone back. Instead of feeling relieved however, Erren felt…sad. She thought she would be happy he wasn't there, but found it almost lonely.

…Of course, that small feeling left as soon as Scorpion flew through the other door of the closet. Erren literally fell down, not screaming like she had before. Instead, she had stopped breathing.

"What the hell?" Scorpion roared as he stared at her sitting form. The man's face almost instantly changed it's expression when he saw Erren's still chest. The anger melted into worry and the man knelt down to his knees and quickly placed his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe," he instructed. Erren gasped as she fell forward into Scorpion's large shoulder. She thought she had died! She did like, three mental back-flips in less than two seconds. The girl let herself catch much needed breath as she leaned against Scorpion's shoulder. As Erren sucked in air, she noticed something that struck her as strange.

Scorpion smelt like leather. Brand new, just bought from the store leather. Erren knew the smell from her dad - he had bought a leather jacket one time when she was little and she would always sniff it when he wasn't looking. He hugged her a lot when he wore it too, and she fell in love with it. The smell, anyway. It wasn't what she was expecting. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She had been close to Scorpion more than one time, and she was _just_ noticing what he smelt like?

Erren started to feel awkward, so she let her mind wander to something else. Like how lucky she was. Or, how lucky she felt. Her parents just so happened to eat out, something they did once every two months. Erren thought back on what had happened in the last five minutes and tried not to laugh. She had been lucky with her parents leaving for the night, Scorpion had almost given her a heart attack and she almost passed out. Well, that wasn't exactly the right order but any way she put it, it still was a lot. Erren pulled away from Scorpion, still trying to keep herself from laughing…

Then she stood and the giggles started. She almost fell down as she headed for the door. The look on Scorpion's face when he got out of the closet was stuck in her head for some reason. It was scary, yeah. But the more Erren thought back on it, the more it made her laugh. She stopped walking as she grabbed the door knob. She had to _stop_ giggling.

"What the hell is so funny?" Scorpion asked as he himself stood. Erren took one look at the man's face and began to laugh again. She opened the door and quickly stepped into the hallway. Maybe she'd stop laughing if she was out of her room. Of course, Erren realized, that made no sense.

The sound of foot steps behind her made her stop laughing, however. The teen turned toward the staircase and suddenly got the feeling she wasn't alone. Well, besides Scorpion being there with her. Erren continued to stare into the dark space - it had gotten cloudly ouside and her house wasn't very bright to begin with - trying her best to make out anything strange or out of place.

Scorpion stepped out of the teen's room, nearly bumping into her. The ninja instantly felt a chill in the air and automatically knew what was going on. He had felt that same chill before. Scorpion took in a deep breath, ready to call out the figure hiding in the shadows…

…But stopped when Sub-Zero stepped out before he could say anything. The specter growled instead. Yeah, it wasn't yelling but it got the point across.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Scorpion asked loudly. Sub-Zero seemed completely lost as he stared at the ninja, then at Erren. Scorpion sighed. "Well?"

Sub-Zero looked back at Scorpion. "I haven't the slightest clue." He paused as he rubbed his head. "I just…remember waking in this house." The blue clad warrior literally jumped when Erren gasped. Scorpion stiffled a laugh, which luckily went un-noticed.

"Oh, sorry, but…did my parents see you?" The girl seemed to be completely terrified. Sub-Zero, scrambling for any type of composure, shook his head. The guy must have been _really_ confused. Scorpion had never seen him act that way before.

Erren sighed, her body relaxing. "Good." She paused and looked at Sub-Zero's form. Scorpion followed her eyes to his arms. He wasn't wearing his long sleeved uniform like the last time. The Lin Quei was in his usual attire, which showed off his frozen arms. "What…" The teen stopped and bit her lip. Scorpion snorted, deciding to finish what she had started.

"He's Lin Quei," Scorpion said. Erren seemed to not understand, so the dead warrior continued. "They're ice ninja." Scorpion noticed the glare on Sub-Zero's face but promptly ignored it.

Erren "ohed" and looked at at the cold man. "So that means neither of you remember how you got here?" Scorpion was glad she had changed the subject. Talking about Sub-Zero was the last thing he wanted to do at that moment. Actually, he _never_ wanted to talk about Sub-Zero.

Scorpion took the words in and felt a pang of embarrassment - not knowing that Sub-Zero was feeling the same way. They weren't very observant. Of course, that led to worry - why was that? What could be the reason for the lack of attentiveness? Especially for Sub-Zero…

The two absently set their eyes on the girl standing before them and realization hit like Shao Kahn's war hammer. Scorpion and Sub-Zero looked at each other, hoping Erren wouldn't notice the sudden nervousness between them.

_Erren_ was the reason their senses were so dull.

Sub-Zero felt completely confused. The last time had seen her, she hadn't had any real affect on him. Well, not any more than anyone else besides Scorpion. Erren had some kind of affect on everyone, it was just that Scorpion had it worse. Sub-Zero felt somewhat frightened. He had seen how much trouble Scorpion had - would it be the same for him?

The Lin Quei headmaster heard a small sigh and chanced a glance at Erren. The girl seemed to be thinking about something - probably a lot of things Sub-Zero imagined. She was silent for a moment longer before she looked up, meeting Sub-Zero's eyes.

Nothing. Sub-Zero felt nothing. Well, yes, the girl had pretty green eyes but besides that, Sub-Zero didn't have any sort of reaction. The headmaster sighed to himself. Good. He wasn't under Erren's "spell".

Sub-Zero stiffened as a thought ran through is head;

Did that mean he losing his touch?

End of Chapter Four

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(Just a little humor there at the end. Yes, Sub-Zero is back because he is my favorite character. Actually, he won't be the only one coming back. Ah, you'll just have to read more. :D Finally! I'm getting somewhere!)

(I listened to that song, btw. It was, for lack of a better word, awesome. I can see what you mean about it reminding you of Scorpion. It's so sad. Thank you for sharing it with me.)

Red


	5. Gathering Part One

(On to chapter five! Thank you all who reviewed and or read the last chapter. :D)

I don't own anything that isn't mine.

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Chapter Five: Gathering, (Part One)

Erren had enough to deal with. First Scorpion, who was enough trouble by himself, showed up out of nowhere at the most random time. Then came Sub-Zero walking up her stairs. She didn't' know what to do, that not being the worst part because she _never_ knew what to do. What was worse was that neither Scorpion nor Sub-Zero knew what to do, either. They didn't even know _how_ they got there in the first place! Erren already felt exhausted and nothing (big) had even happened yet. Hopefully nothing _would_.

The three had gone back into Erren's room so she could sit down. Scorpion was leaning against the wall he was against earlier. Sub-Zero was standing in the middle of the room at the foot of Erren's bed. The three were thinking - well, two. Erren was staring at the other two.

Sub-Zero was different in his new - it may not have been new, but Erren had never seen it before - outfit. His arms made Erren's hurt. They looked like they were made completely of ice. She rubbed her arms absent mindedly as she recalled the last time she had seen him. He had had on long gloves so most of his arms weren't showing, only the tips of his fingers and very upper arms. The teen then noticed how _big_ Sub-Zero's arms were. What kind of ninja had huge muscles like that? Scorpion's arms were rather large, too, when she thought about it.

Of course, Erren admitted to herself that she liked Scorpion's arms, remembering the muscular appendages being the first things she noticed about him when she first saw him…

"Son of a bitch," Scorpion said rather loudly. Erren jumped, not expecting the sudden outburst. She4 felt her cheeks heat up - how embarrassing; she was practically gawking at both men's arms. Thank God they didn't notice.

Sub-Zero turned to the ninja and silently waited for an explanation. Scorpion stood from his leaning position. "I remember what happened," he started angrily. "I was ambushed by some low life creatures in the Netherealm and…" Scorpion stopped as his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration.

"…that's all I can remember."

Sub-Zero seemed to take in the information with a simple nod. "You didn't hear anything they said?" Scorpion sighed as he let his body fall back against the wall.

"No," the Shirai-Ryu answered. Sub-Zero turned his gaze to the floor. Erren guessed he was still thinking. She began to feel somewhat useless, which wasn't all that new of a feeling for her. She had been useless the last time she had been with the two men currently occupying her room. There was never anything she could do to help, even at school. Her friends would always asked her something and she would shake her head stupidly. Why couldn't she be anything _besides_ worthless? Erren jerked herself out of her sinking thoughts when she absently sighed, (loudly).

Erren, feeling flustered and borderline pitiful, pulled her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. After a minute or so, she started to get the feeling someone was staring at her and she lifted her head. Erren was surprised to see bother Scorpion and Sub-Zero staring at her, evident worry on their masked faces.

"Wh-what?" Erren gasped out - was there something wrong with her face? She prayed to God there wasn't, that was flat out embarrassing. Just as the teen began to rub her face violently, Sub-Zero spoke.

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?" Erren briefly looked at the blue clad warrior, then at Scorpion. Were they bother worried about her? The thought was rather funny, even though Erren had had them worried before in a similar situation.

Erren faked a laugh as she thought of something to say back. "I'm fine." Wow. She had a way with words lately…

"If you're scared, you shouldn't be." Scorpion's voice made Erren jump - she hadn't expected to hear him say anything. He usually never did. Well, unless it was to change the subject. Erren, after noticing Sub-Zero's head turn toward the ninja, mimicked the Lin Quei member's movement. She didn't have to turn her head to look at Scorpion, though.

Scorpion stared directly at Erren, or, had been the whole time. The teen quickly found something else to look at. The back of Sub-Zero's head was a pretty good alternative, she decided.

"He's right," Sub-Zero finally said. Erren continued to stare at the man's head until he turned to her. She looked at the wall, then. "As long as we're here, no harm will come to you."

"_As long as you _are_ here, harm'll come to me,"_ Erren thought as she frowned. If they had never shown up, she wouldn't have anything to worry about. Not hat she was really worried - it was probably just a freak accident like the last time. Erren looked up when she heard the sound of Scorpion pushing off the wall and walking toe door. Where was he going?

"Someone else is here." He said, answering the girl's silent question. Suddenly she felt afraid. What if something bad followed them? Erren watched as Scorpion opened the door and walked into the dark hallway. Sub-Zero stayed in the room, ready for anything to attack. After a few nerve wracking moments of silence, the sound of a man's voice - besides Scorpion's - rang through the house.

"Whoa, _whoa_! Calm down,"

Sub-Zero seemed to recognize the voice almost instantly, sighing as he heard it. Erren gave the man a questioning look, hoping he'd tell her what was going on without her having to actually say anything.

"You remember Johnny Cage, don't you?" Erren relaxed and nodded. She was glad it wasn't something scary or evil. And on top of that, she liked Johnny Cage. Sub-Zero walked the short distance to the door and when Erren didn't follow right away, waved a hand indicating for her to follow him. The teen jumped off her bed and followed Sub-Zero down the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpion's voice was nothing more than a growl, making it hard for Erren to hear anything he was saying. She noticed Sub-Zero quicken his pace as they reached the stairs.

"I don't' even know where I am," Johnny admitted as he held up his hands in defense. He looked at Sub-Zero and Erren's forms step off the bottom step of the stairs and his face became even more twisted in confusion." Wait, what - "

"Let me explain," Sub-Zero said calmly as he stepped past Scorpion and in front of Johnny. Erren saw Scorpion's angry expression and, without realizing it, reached out and touched the warrior's bare shoulder.

Scorpion thought he couldn't handle the girl's touch with no real problem. When she had touched him earlier when she shoved him into the closet, for example. He hadn't even flinched - besides the forceful motion of getting shoved - as her hands pressed into his back. Of course, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how big a mistake had had made be letting her touch him. When Erren shoved him, she had barely touched him, really. He barely felt her hands on him. Then when Scorpion had held Erren and let her head fall to his shoulder - honestly, he had almost lost it. He luckily remained in control, however. If he thought about it when she touched him, he was perfectly - well, with the exception of his inability to breathe properly and his vision blurring - fine. It was okay when _he_ touched _her_.

So when _she_ reached out and touched _him_, Scorpion found himself hopelessly unprepared.

"Don't - " She started to say something else but stopped herself when Scorpion jerked away from her hand.

Scorpion was halfway across the room, catching his breath. Erren seemed completely shocked. "Do _not_ do that…" Scorpioni said as he placed a hand over his eyes. The room was spinning and unfortunately the sensation didn't stop when his eyes were shut, he realized.

It was getting worse. Scorpion thought it was something he could control - when he had hugged her earlier was, what he thought, proof of that. But it seemed that trying to control the erratic responses only made it _worse_ later. Scorpion felt his body start to sway and cursed out loud. She had barely touched him and he was about to fall over. The thought was just…un-nerving.

"Scorpion," Sub-Zero said as he wrapped his arms around the Shirai-Ryu's waist and carefully sat him down on the nearest piece of furniture. The Lin Quei warrior removed his arms before continuing. "What's wrong?"

Scorpion rested his elbows on his knees, trying to settle down. His breathing was fine, but his vision was still blurry and his head was spinning. "Nothing." he heard footsteps, then a door slamming shut. Maybe Cage had left..? (Wishful thinking.)

"Erren," Sub-Zero called as he started walking toward the girl's room. Johnny Cage stopped in mid-stride, however.

"I think I'm more capable of handling this than you are." He paused, noticing the glare on Sub-Zero's face. "Not to be dis_respectful _or anything…" After receiving a look that implied no more talking, the blonde left the room and headed up the stairs. Scorpion couldn't see it, but he knew Sub-Zero was staring at him.

"It's gotten worse," he said as he sat down beside Scorpion. The ninja specter laughed, no hint of humor in his voice. What the hell was he going to do? As long as he was even around Erren, he couldn't function right. Scorpion looked at Sub-Zero through his hands.

"No shit."

End of Chapter Five

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(Well, that was chapter five. So, we got Johnny Cage back, and Scorpion is apparently allergic to Erren. Ha ha, that's not what it is, but it sounds funny. ;D After I wrote this chapter I was thinking, Why did I name it _Gathering_? Only one person comes up, (after Sub-Zero) so there wasn't really a "gathering". So, I added Part One to it so there can be a second part, giving the name of the chapter actual signifigance! ...Eh heh...enough of my babbilng. I hope you all can put up with my spastic-ness.)

Red


	6. Gathering Part Two

(A/N: I'm back! Yippee. Yeah, I've been busy…Yep. None of you believe me, do you? I don't blame you! Thank you wonderful people who reviewed me last chapter, and also to the wonderful people who are simply reading this. :D)

I don't own anything that isn't mine.

* * *

Chapter Six: Gathering (Part 2)

Johnny Cage had had a lot of experience with women. Crying, mad, happy - he had seen it all, (so he thought, that is). So dealing with an upset teenager couldn't be that big of a deal. He had dealt with Sonya. Of course, the woman was as mean as women came. Erren wasn't anything like that.

To top it all off, he was charming and had a great smile. What teenaged girl _wouldn't_ cheer up after a grin from Johnny Cage?

The blonde gently knocked on the door of the bedroom he had never been in. After a few moments of silence following the knocking, Johnny opened the door. Hopefully Erren wouldn't mind too much if he just walked in.

"Erren," he called as he stood in the doorway. She was lying on her bed, her face in one of her numerous pillows. Johnny honestly was at a loss for words. The actual cheering up part was going to be harder than he thought, he realized.

"Get it together," he thought as he walked to the bed. "I know Scorpion can be a bastard, but it's nothing new." Johnny wasn't sure that came out the way he wanted it to, but didn't try to correct himself. He didn't want to lose face.

"…I know." She replied, her voice muffled by her pillow. Johnny was surprised, he thought she wouldn't answer him at all.

The blonde shifted nervously. "Then why…well, I mean, what's the problem?" He felt like slapping himself - why couldn't he say the right words? Erren sat up, fixing her matted hair as she looked at Johnny.

"I don't understand… Why? Why did you come back?" Johnny frowned, and Erren's cheeks turned red. "Wait, I didn't mean you in particular - I meant all of you. I was…getting over everything just fine, and then…" She broke off, rubbing a hand over her face.

Johnny stared at Erren for a few moments before he spoke. He was understanding where she was coming from, but didn't know how he could help. "We'll figure this out, and before you know it, we'll be gone."

Erren put her hand down, revealing a tired grin. "Thank you." The two words were full of sincerity, surprising Johnny. He smiled however, despite himself. The teen had every right to be upset, for sure. But didn't Scorpion have feelings for the girl? Not that it was any of his business or anything - he just thought it was…strange. The whole situation was strange.

"Well," Johnny said as he sat on the bed. "In any case, I wouldn't be worried if I were you. I mean, Johnny _Cage _is protecting you." Erren laughed as she sat up, straightening her shirt. "Oh, and Scorpion and Sub-Zero. But they're here just in case I'm defeated, which, of course, is highly unlikely." Johnny took off his shades, putting them in his shirt.

"Of course," Erren giggled.

"Yeah, they may have powers or whatever, but I've got - "

"A big mouth."

Johnny spun around, his eyes instantly fixing on the figure in the door. Scorpion did not look happy - hell, he never looked happy, but he looked extra not happy at that moment.

"Hey," Johnny said with a smile. A nervous smile, but a smile. "So, think of anything?" He paused. "Where's Sub-Zero?"

Scorpion had been expecting to see Johnny Cage with Erren, but not so close together. He knew it wasn't anything serious, but it made him mad for some reason. Well, he knew the reason, but didn't want to admit it to himself. On top of that, Scorpion himself hadn't anything to do with Erren, except that he was forced to protect her at one time...and he had a strange attraction to her. Despite that, the specter had made up his mind to not have anything to do with the girl. She caused too much damage to his mental state. She made him weak, so to remove weakness, he would have to ignore her. Unless it was an emergency, but he wouldn't admit he'd jump in to save her. Of course, he wasn't expecting to be there much longer. Hopefully the Elder gods would put things back where they belonged and nothing would happen.

"He's downstairs." Scorpion said, removing as much bitterness from his voice as he could. However, he realized as he looked at the two mortals' faces that he hadn't done a very good job.

Thankfully, before anyone could say anything else, Sub-Zero stepped beside Scorpion in the doorway. Scorpion had never been so glad to see the Lin Quei warrior. Maybe. He couldn't remember…

"I might know a way we can fix this." He began. Everyone grew quiet as they stared at the blue clad warrior. "I'm going to need some things, though."

Scorpion looked at Sub-Zero, then at Erren. Sub-Zero was staring at Erren expectantly. The girl nodded to herself and stood from her bed. Just as she put both feet on the floor however, a bright flash filled the room, causing everyone in the room to gasp. After a few moments of shocked silence, Johnny Cage's laughter filled the room. Scorpion would have rolled his eyes if he could at that moment - they were currently screwed shut due to the blinding light that so viciously made itself apparent.

"Why does he always do that?" Johnny asked as he tried to control his chuckles. Scorpion, being the first to open his eyes, looked around the room, hoping to find the aforementioned "he".

The flash could have been a dead giveaway. Scorpion suppressed a sigh as he stared at the new figure in the room. "Even Raiden decided to join us."

The thunder god gave Scorpion a glare before turning his attention to the group as a whole. "I was beginning to wonder where warriors were disappearing to."

"I'm surprised," Scorpion started mockingly. "You're champion isn't in trouble - why the sudden interest?" The ninja specter had no idea why he was saying so much - especially to a thunder god with a temper - but he had a feeling it had to do with his foul mood. The day had started out bad enough, and it slowly worsened as the minutes passed.

Raiden ignored Scorpion's jab, turning his attention to Erren. "Are you hurt? Were you attacked?" Everyone in the room - with the exception of Raiden, of course - didn't understand why Raiden had asked such a question. Erren, Scorpion noticed, gave him a glance before she turned her full attention to the god. What the hell was that?

"No." She answered quietly, her confusion evident. "Why? Is someone after me?"

"Hm," Raiden turned to Scorpion. "Have you been attacked by anyone?"

Scorpion was slightly taken aback by the question. Though nothing in Raiden's voice indicated concern, the question itself was startling enough. The ninja looked the god squarely in the face. "Not that I can remember." he paused, turning his head To Erren. "But apparently I have. Otherwise I wouldn't be here." The Shirai-Ryu continued to stare at the teen, not really caring if it made her uncomfortable. Actually, at that moment he didn't really care about anything. Especially anything having to do with her.

Raiden was silent for about a minute. He then looked at Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage. "What about you two?" Sub-Zero shook his head.

"I don't remember anything before I got here." Johnny shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry Raiden. I can't remember either."

The silence that followed was borderline foreboding. Scorpion had stopped staring at Erren and turned his attention to the thunder god. Or, his hat anyway. Just when Scorpion had started counting how many lines were in the hat, the sound of boots echoed through the house. The sound was coming from downstairs, and grew louder as it came closer.

The group stared expectantly at the open bedroom door. Scorpion prepared for an attack - wait, why was Raiden so calm? Didn't he just finish asking everyone if they'd been attacked?

Scorpion relaxed when he saw Sonya's familiar scowl. Well, he relaxed only a little; the woman wasn't exactly a friend.

"Sonya?" Johnny made no effort to hide his shock. The blonde woman ran a hand through her hair, taking in a deep breath - she seemed to have been running and was just catching her breath.

"Where the hell are we?" She asked as she began putting her hair up into a ponytail. After finishing, she placed her hands on her hips, looking directly as Raiden. Scorpion realized then how much he'd like to see Sonya kick the thunder god's ass, and he was happy for about three seconds.

The said thunder god began to reply, but stopped himself. After a very short pause, he spoke. "What happened to you? Are you injured?"

Sonya snorted, her shoulders raising in a shrug-like motion. "No. I was fighting off the Red Dragon Clan, and then I end up in this house…" She trailed off when her eyes landed on Erren. "Wait, you again - "

Scorpion, despite his immense aggravation toward the teen, felt the urge to punch Sonya in the face at that moment.

But, luckily for Sonya, Raiden spoke. "She had nothing to do with us being here." Sonya's temper was almost infamous when it made itself present. Scorpion turned his head to look at Raiden. So he knew what was going on? Why didn't he say anything in the first place?

"You - " Scorpion started, but just as Sonya, he was interrupted.

"I'll explain everything now that we're all here." Raiden quickly added, giving Scorpion a meaningful glare. "If you'll listen, that is."

Scorpion growled; he was not in the mood for a lecture. "Speak, Raiden. I would hate to spend another _minute _in this place." He noticed Erren flinch as the words left his mouth and he didn't care. At all.

Raiden let out a tired sigh. "Alright," he began grimly. "Shang Tsung is to blame for this."

Scorpion couldn't help but suck in a breath. He had, unfortunately, been acquainted with the sorcerer too many times for his liking. He had even sided with him. Of course, he was just doing so to find an end to his means. There was no personal gain from the alliance. He just wanted to use Shang Tsung to help him.

But, as can be expected with sorcerers, Scorpion himself had been used. His temper always got him into more trouble than he was already in, but he couldn't help that. Honestly, what else could a revenge-driven, fire breathing specter do _besides _get angry?

Scorpion ignored the glances he received from everyone in the room - excluding Erren, who had no idea who Shang Tsung was, and hopefully never would - and continued to stare at Raiden.

If Shang Tsung had anything to do with what had happened, it was not going to be as simple as Raiden taking them back and everything going back to normal.

End of Chapter Six

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(A/N: Yeah…I may be a little rusty, but…I've updated! …that doesn't matter if it sucks, huh? Well, this story will eventually get somewhere. I just need to _get _there. I hope you all enjoyed it in some way.)

(And as always, if there any typos I'm sorry - I've read over this chapter twice, so if there are any I've missed, they were meant to be there I guess. Ha ha.)


	7. Twist

(This story is about to get…interesting, if I may boldly say. I hope it goes well. :D)

I don't own anything that isn't mine.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Twist

Erren had no clue who Shang Tsung was - the first thing she thought when Raiden said the name was how funny it sounded. Of course, Raiden's foreboding tone didn't leave Erren much to laugh at. She didn't really feel like laughing at all, actually.

Scorpion had been glancing at her, she noticed. Not that she really cared; he was making her mad anyway. He'd always acted like a jerk but for some reason at that moment she couldn't handle it. She did not feel like dealing with that, so she wouldn't. Erren didn't expect Scorpion to sulk, however. The guy was all but pouting for Pete's sake! The teen allowed herself a look at the ninja, and was thankful he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were staring hard at the floor.

That was when Erren noticed how quiet it had gotten in the room. Everyone's face had the same expression; furrowed eyebrows and a frown. What was wrong? Was the Shang Tsung guy that bad?

"How do you know?" Johnny asked, his voice not as chipper as it usually was. Erren watched Raiden's expression change from calm to slightly annoyed.

"Who else could have this much power?"

Sonya's sigh scared Erren. "It could be any sorcerer,"

"No." Raiden said sternly. "Only Shang Tsung has this sort of power."

"What about Quan Chi?" Scorpion added. Erren had no idea who they were talking about, but apparently they weren't good people, judging by the tone of Scorpion's voice.

"No. I just know that it is Shang Tsung." Erren was surprised by how calm Raiden sounded. Erren hadn't known the guy for long, but she had a feeling he had anger issues. Maybe it was the way he talked to Scorpion all the time…

"So," Johnny started with a weary sigh. "How did you get here?" He looked at Raiden. The god smirked.

"I have my ways." He paused as he gave everyone a look, which Erren couldn't read. "I do not know how you all got here, however. That's the part I'm trying to figure out."

"Can you take us back?" Sonya asked. The blonde woman had made herself comfortable leaning against the far wall.

"Yes. That's what I came here to do." Erren was confused - how was it that he could take them all back so easily, yet when she needed back home it was nearly impossible? Well, maybe not _impossible. _She _did _end up back home after all_. _

But still. The teen didn't feel right about something. Maybe she was over-reacting. She should have been happy to hear that they were going. Erren looked at Raiden again, trying to find anything amiss. Yeah, like she could spot anything - she couldn't even tell the difference between a blue pen and a black pen without writing with each to see the difference.

"So, you're leaving? Right now?" Erren was surprised at how calm she sounded. Every eye was on her, after she had spoken.

"Yes. I'm sorry about this - I won't let it happen again." Raiden gave the best smile he could - or, that's what Erren thought it was - and turned toward the group. Erren allowed herself a glance at Scorpion, and instantly frowned. He was staring blankly at Raiden, who was saying something about a portal. She couldn't read his face, something she felt uncomfortable about. Well, she admitted to herself, she wasn't the best at reading faces. It bothered her anyway - why was that? It wasn't like she expected anything from the dead man. He was harsh in everything he did. His words, his actions…

"…not his kissing, though." She thought absently, her eyes still on the ninja specter. Almost immediately after the thought crossed her mind, her eyes moved to the floor and her face, she was sure, turned into a bright pink color. God she was so stupid! Why was she thinking about that of all things? Especially when he was about to leave.

She wouldn't miss him, she knew. Well, she would, but not in a bad way. She would miss them all about the same.

(That's what she kept telling herself, anyway.)

Erren slowly removed her eyes from the floor to the group of people in her room. They were still talking amongst each other. She wondered how they were going to get back. Erren, instead of asking, only watched, hoping the answer she wanted would make itself apparent.

"Thank you for putting up with this inconvenience." Raiden, who seemed to be the only one who was talking to Erren, said as he bowed his head slightly. Erren smiled awkwardly and nodded back.

"It's…ok." She replied, not really knowing what to say.

"Well it was nice seeing you again." Johnny said, breaking the strange silence. Erren, thankful for the kind words, gave the blonde a grin.

"You too."

"Enough with the goodbyes - we need to figure this out, and quick." Sonya spat out. Erren didn't even chance a look in the woman's direction. She didn't want to be at the wrong end of Sonya's anger…

"She's right, we do need to figure this out." Sub-Zero added. At least he didn't' sound as hateful as Sonya had. He gave Erren a subtle nod as he turned away from her and toward Raiden. "We should go."

"Yes." Was all he said. The room grew quiet as the thunder god held his arms out and began saying something in a language Erren didn't understand. Finally, she would be able to get on with her life and forget about all that had happened…

"Wait," Sub-Zero said, clearly alarmed, "what is this - " The Lin Quei's voice made Erren jump, and the teen looked over at Raiden. The man looked absolutely…not Raiden like. She could have sworn she heard a laugh, but didn't think too much about it when a flash of green blinded her. When her eyesight recovered, Raiden was gone.

Along with Scorpion. Erren felt her breath catch in her throat. She had felt a fear she had never felt before rise in her chest. Something horrible was going to happen, and she didn't know why or how she knew that. Maybe she was just being paranoid…

"Shit, so that wasn't Raiden?" Johnny asked, confirming Erren's growing fear. She should have said something! She thought something was off, but didn't say anything because she was too scared to.

"I believe it was Shang Tsung himself," Sub-Zero said with a growl. Erren did her best to hide her worry by blankly staring at the blue clad man.

"So…" Erren started, chancing a word in. But was stopped when Sonya's harsh voice interrupted anything the teen wanted to say.

"So now we're stuck here," was what the older woman said. "Who knows what that sorcerer bastard is planning." Erren did her best not to glare - Sonya was getting on her nerves, but Erren wasn't stupid. There was no telling what the woman would do if Erren said anything even remotely confrontational to her.

"Man, this sucks." Johnny said with a sigh, pulling a hand through his hair. "Anybody got any ideas?" When no one answered for a good minute, he sighed again. "Gee, you people are _so_ helpful."

"Trying to be cute isn't helpful," Sonya said with a glare. Johnny shrugged, but said nothing else. Sub-Zero intervened before anything else could be said.

"Getting angry isn't helpful either." The masked man's tone made Erren smile to herself. She quickly stopped however when Sonya glanced in her direction. Sonya crossed her arms, giving Sub-Zero a challenging look. Erren thought she was going to say something, but she never did.

"There's nothing to fear. Raiden will show up and we'll _really _be gone." Sub-Zero said to Erren, giving her a masked smile. His eyes twinkled with reassurance, and Erren couldn't help but stare, almost believing him.

Almost. The nagging in the back of her head made her doubtful. Erren wanted to ask about Scorpion, but couldn't bring herself to speak.

"What about Scorpion?" Erren was silently grateful for Johnny's question, a question she herself wanted to ask. She felt so useless, as she usually did while with the warriors.

Sub-Zero made sure to speak before Sonya could, not flinching at her glare. "Shan Tsung is powerful; he probably took control of Scoprion. It may have been easiest to control him due to the fact that he had been manipulated before."

"How do we know that Scorpion isn't working for him on his own?" Sonya, despite Sub-Zero's attempts, interjected. The Lin Quei sighed, giving the blonde woman an accusing look.

"If that were the case," he paused as he turned fully to the glaring woman. "We would have noticed." Sonya snorted, waving a hand in Sub-Zero's direction.

"That is the most pathetic excuse I have ever heard." She stopped, a serious expression replacing her mocking one. "You're in on it, too." Erren felt her heart race - this was not good…

"Wait," Erren started, hoping she'd get someone's attention.

"The Lin Quei do not make deals with beings such as Shang Tsung - "

"You're evil, aren't you? I don't believe a word of what you're saying."

"Actually -" Sub-Zero started, sounding angrier than Erren had ever heard him sound. She didn't like it, his eyes became an un-naturally bright blue. The color pierced through everything else around them, making the orbs that much more…menacing.

"Wait," Erren said again, this time louder. When she was ignored again, she did the only thing she thought she could. The teen pleadingly looked at Johnny Cage, who, to her dismay, seemed just as unsure as she was. Erren felt her stomach drop as Sonya began yelling. What could she do? She looked at Johnny again, but this time he was looking right at her. He winked. Erren felt herself relax despite herself and waited for Johnny to do whatever it was he was going to do.

"Guys, listen," Johnny interrupted, not caring how hateful a glare he received. "However pathetic Sub-Zero's "excuse" may seem, I see where he's coming from." The blonde man continued before Sonya said anything. "Look, if Scorpion was under Shang Tsung's control from the beginning, he'd be…well, he would have been zoned out from the very beginning. But he was only zoned out when Raiden - I mean, Shang Tsung - showed up."

"You people are unbelievable! That is no reason to dismiss the possibility that Scorpion's working for Shang Tsung."

Before the discussion could become anything more than a discussion, a flash of white light filled the room, causing everyone to stop whatever they were doing and cover their eyes. Erren rubbed her eyes and set her gaze upon the thunder god. The real Raiden had shown up, and didn't seem too happy…

End of Chapter Seven

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(…Ok. That was fun to write. ;D How is Scorpion being kidnapped - *gets a glare from the man himself* - going to affect Erren? Ah, you'll see soon enough. I hope. O.o)

Red


	8. Answers

(READ: This is a re-write of chapter eight. I explained why in my profile, if you care. lol! :) Thank you guys for being so patient with me, and for not sending me hate mail! Ha ha.)

I don't own anything.

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Chapter Eight: Answers

Scorpion awoke to find himself lying on a stone floor. He quickly rose to his feet, expecting someone to attack him. When no one did, he relaxed, but barely. It didn't hurt to be cautious. The Shirai-Ryu looked around the small chamber and concluded he was in a holding cell of some sort. How had he gotten there? And who had him?

He concentrated on the last thing he had seen before he blacked out.

Raiden, then a flash of green, then a hand –

Oh! Scorpion looked at his upper arm, where a nice big bruise had formed. That wasn't Raiden, it was Shang Tsung! And he had grabbed for Erren, but luckily Scorpion –

Luckily? Really? He shook his head, and continued reminiscing. He'd get to the why later.

Luckily Scorpion had stepped in between, and Shang Tsung had somehow grabbed Scorpion's arm instead of Erren's. He poked at the blackening bruise and frowned. If Shang Tsung had managed to bruise him, he didn't want to think about how Erren's arm would look if he would have grabbed her as he intended.

Scorpion sighed, letting his head fall. Why was he doing this? He was such an idiot. Of course, thwarting Shang Tsung's plans was always an added bonus, intentional or not. He just did it. Without thinking. Maybe he had lost his mind. It was possible…

"You're awake," a voice echoed through the stone room. A pissed off voice. Scorpion looked through the bars to see Shang Tsung's red clad form staring down at him. The ninja smirked. He had grabbed the wrong person.

"What are you planning, sorcerer?" Scorpion said with as much venom as he could muster at the moment. It wasn't hard. Of course, the sorcerer didn't even blink. Typical.

Shang Tsung was silent for moment. Probably thinking of a way to word his mishap where it didn't look as stupid as it actually was. "I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to tell you." Scorpion ignored the implied tone and remained silent.

"I was after the girl, this Erren." He said her name as if she were some sort of fascinating new…something he could play with. Scorpion held his tongue, hoping the evil bastard would get to the point. "She has some unusual power, as I'm sure you're aware."

Scorpion had to say something at that point. "Yeah, yeah. I got that part. What do you want with her?"

The sorcerer glared, his anger becoming more apparent. Like Scorpion cared.

"I want to use her power to gain control of the realms."

Scorpion cocked an eyebrow. "And how are you going to do that with her?"

Shang Tsung seemed annoyed at his prisoner's questions, but answered anyway. "Her power, you insufferable brute! You should know as well as anyone what I'm speaking of."

Scorpion nodded, understanding what he was saying. It was a stupid plan, really. The only person she had any real affect on was himself. Shang Tsung must have known that? Or had he figured something else out? "Too bad I'm the only one she affects that way."

"No," Shang Tsung interjected. He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. Scorpion would be enjoying this if he wasn't in a damn cell. "You are just affected the most. I have seen reaction in all of your comrades." There was a pause, and he smirked. "I have even seen it affect Raiden."

Scorpion resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah. Shang Tsung had completely lost it. "You're a fool. How are you planning on making her "power" work for you? It doesn't have that much of a hold on anyone."

_Besides me._ But he left that part to himself.

Shang Tsung glared through the bars, then held out his hand. Scorpion felt his body hit the wall before he had time to be surprised. He felt – and heard – a few things snap in his middle, knowing he had just managed to break his ribs. Scorpion fell to the floor and curled into a ball, ignoring whatever the hell Shang Tsung was babbling about.

He caught the end of it, though. "...to see it." And with that, he was gone.

Scorpion sighed, not daring to move. To think he was risking death – a second death, but death by all means – for some brat…

…but maybe in the end that bastard wouldn't touch her, and that was enough. For the moment.

* * *

Erren was glad to see the real Raiden, even if he was angry. The thunder god had immediately started explaining what had happened to the group, something Erren was more than grateful for.

"We don't have much time," he had started. "We need to keep Erren away from him and stop him."

Sonya frowned, causing worry to fill Erren's chest. Surely she wouldn't start anything with Raiden?

"Why? What's so important about her?" Raiden turned to the blonde woman, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Not only is she in danger, but we are as well." He said in a exasperated tone as he turned his gaze to the floor. "If only I had arrived sooner..."

"Please lord Raiden, just tell us what is happening." Sub-Zero's voice was as calm and cool as his appearance. The Lin Quei's words seemed to calm the thunder god, and Raiden began to speak again. Erren had the sinking feeling she didn't want to hear what was about to be said.

"Shang Tsung has found a way to weaken his enemies." There was a pause, then: "Erren."

The teen felt her eyebrows rise in confusion. "What do you mean?" For a god, he wasn't making much sense. How could she be of any use to anyone?

Raiden's face was a blank mask. "Erren, you are the source of his soon to be power." He was dead serious, she realized. Great. She was causing more trouble...

"How?" She breathed out. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden on anyone.

"You haven't noticed the strange affect you have on others?" Sub-Zero asked, including himself in the conversation. Erren felt her lips dip into a frown. She had noticed Scorpion's strange reactions to her, but no one else really.

"How does he plan on using her...ability?" Johnny asked, worry evident in his voice. Raiden sighed, never taking his eyes off Erren. The girl felt slightly uncomfortable being stared at. Erren looked at the floor, hoping he wouldn't notice how nervous he made her feel.

"I don't know. I am fairly sure it involves capturing her, though."

Erren didn't like the sound of that. "What does Scorpion have to do with any of this?" Sonya asked doubtfully. Erren found herself wondering the same thing.

"I'm not entirely sure how yet, maybe nothing." Raiden clenched his teeth together, a frustrated growl escaping his throat. "We need to find Shang Tsung."

Erren felt horrible at that moment - why was she the one who always caused trouble? She almost felt like crying, but realized that it would do no good to anyone. So, she held back her tears. There was no time to be pathetic anymore. She had to help fix what she had messed up.

"Where can we start looking?" Erren asked, louder than she expected. The group looked at her, seemingly surprised. Erren tried not to be offended by it, but found it hard. Raiden's frown deepened, and the teen tried not to panic.

"I don't think it's wise for you to come. What if something were to happen to you?" Erren bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. She wanted to help, but what if the best thing for her to do was to stay behind, not getting in the way? The more she thought about it, the more logical it sounded. She almost gave into her fear, but a thought struck her. If she didn't go, she would feel like crap. Her conscious wouldn't let her stay home. So, she looked right at Raiden, taking a deep breath before speaking.

But Sub-Zero spoke before she could say a word. "I don't think it's safe for her to be left alone here, either. Shang Tsung easily found where she was." Erren felt a chill run down her spine by the words, but quickly realized it was true. She suddenly knew that there was no other option. She had to go. She had helped start this mess, she had to help fix it.

"I'm coming," she said with a nod. Erren didn't know how or if she could help, but was going to try nonetheless. She looked at Raiden, hoping he would understand and let her go. Erren could have sworn she saw a small smirk on his lips as he began to speak.

"Alright. It's settled then. Shang Tsung must be found; we leave now."

Erren swallowed thickly, hoping no one heard her. Just because she was willing to help didn't mean she wasn't scared out of her mind...

End of Chapter Eight

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(I cheated! I just re-wrote Scorpion's part…lmao! Well, I made a few more adjustments here and there on the second part, too. I decided to make Scorpion look like a good guy, protecting Erren. :) Aww. I had to change it, because…I didn't know what I was going to after that! Lol! Again, I'm sorry! Tell me if you like the other better, or if this makes more sense. If you don't care either way, that's fine too. Lmao Shang Tsung's plan will be revealed in the next chapter or so! bum bum bum)

Red


	9. Unexpected

(It's just been what, four months? Hee…heh. Yeah. College…Anyway! I don't really know if I like the way this story was going, so if there are some really strange happenings in the next few chapters, it's because I really didn't want to take anything down and that I'm…revising some things. I know where I want to go I just gotta get there in a way that won't confuse anyone. :) Enjoy!)

Don't own a thing. 'Cept Erren.

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Chapter Nine: Unexpected

Erren felt something like fear – it was worse than that, but fear sounded better than heart-stopping terror – course through her body as she stared at the ground. The group had made it to OutWorld, which was a pretty scary place Erren had to admit. It wasn't as scary as the Netherrealm –if that was even its name – but it was fairly darn close.

She felt someone staring at her, and she didn't have to turn to see it was Sonya. The woman had never liked her, she was certain. Of course, Erren couldn't blame her. The teen was the exact opposite of the blonde, kick-ass army chick who could throw down a man twice her size. Honestly, Erren was jealous…

And to top it all off she was pretty. Yeah. Erren was definitely jealous. She felt bad about it, but she couldn't help it.

Erren began wondering why she had come at all. Wasn't she a liability? If she was captured, this Shang Tsung guy would have what he wanted, and it would be…bad. And Scorpion would –

_Stop that!_ Erren felt a frown coming. She ignored it.

If she would have stayed at home, everything would have been fine. She paused, remembering how easily Shang Tsung had fooled them all into thinking that he was Raiden. Ok, maybe Sub-Zero was right; it wouldn't have been the best choice to stay. She just wanted to be home, in her bed…

Why had this happened? She was fine, at home, nothing weird going on at all until _he_ showed up. Erren didn't feel her fists clench, her fingernails digging into her palms. If it weren't for _him_, none of this would have happened. She wished he was there, so she could tell him it was all his fault. It wasn't fair –

Erren stopped herself, realizing she was being completely unfair herself. Scorpion hadn't even known _how_ he had gotten there, and here she was blaming the entire thing on him. She suddenly felt horrible. She wasn't only pathetic, but she was also bratty and selfish. The teen sighed to herself, continuing to stare at the ground. She should have been the one to be captured, not Scorpion.

Which brought up the question that had been nagging at her: Why was Scorpion taken? Wouldn't it make sense for Erren to be taken? Erren felt her head begin to throb and sighed. Nothing was making sense...

"Are you ok?" Erren looked up, already knowing who had asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just…confused."

The next question was obvious. "About what?" Johnny looked just as bored as he did worried. Erren gave herself a moment to word a suitable question. She didn't want to sound like an idiot – as she usually did.

"Well, why did this…Shang Tsung take Scorpion? Why not me?" Erren noticed Raiden had turned his head ever so slightly, clearly listening in on the conversation. Maybe Raiden had figured it out? Or, someone had to have.

Johnny considered the question. Erren noticed he brushed his fingers through his hair and suddenly became aware that Johnny Cage had nicer hair than she did…

_Why does that _matter_? _Erren felt like an idiot. She _was_ an idiot.

"Wasn't he being controlled by Shang Tsung?" That didn't answer the question, but it got Raiden completely into the conversation.

The thunder god shook his head. "_That_, I'm sure he wasn't." Sonya made a 'humph' sound and Erren resisted the urge to smile. Then,

"How do you know?" The blonde woman asked, her voice dripping with skepticism. Erren noticed Sub-Zero sigh, clearly frustrated. He remained silent however, something Erren was grateful for. Another fight was not what they needed. Of course, with Raiden there, would there even be a fight?

Raiden frowned. "Ever since he was first told to watch over Erren, I have been keeping an eye on him – "

"Spying?"

"Keeping an eye on him," Raiden repeated, his tone leaving no room for anymore interruptions. "And I have seen no sign of Shang Tsung." After a moment's silence, Sonya spoke again. The woman didn't know when to give up, that was for sure. Erren usually found it an admirable trait – but now it was starting to irk her…

"How do you know he didn't _just_ take control of him?"

Raiden glared at Sonya. "Sonya, I just _know_. Is that good enough?" By the look on his face he knew it wouldn't appease her, but his tone was all business. Erren looked at Sonya nervously. Surely she'd just shut up?

Sonya stared at Raiden. Hard. Finally, she sighed and turned her head away, blonde, silky strands brushing against high cheek bones. "Fine, Raiden. I trust you, but that's the _only_ reason I'm not going any further into this."

A small smile appeared on the god's face and Erren found herself staring at it. It was odd to see him smile. "I know how difficult it is for you to go by faith, but trust me, if Scorpion was under Shang Tsung's control, I would know and would have told you so already."

"That doesn't answer Erren's question, though." Johnny said, re-entering the conversation.

There was a silence. Erren found herself somewhat frustrated…

"He was standing the closest to Erren," Sub-Zero's cool voice broke through the silence and everyone looked at him. Erren noticed he was staring off somewhere in the distance. She looked too, but didn't see anything.

"And your point being..?" Sonya asked. Erren realized she was going to _have_ to get over Sonya getting on her nerves.

If Sonya's question bothered Sub-Zero, he didn't show it. He turned to face the group. "Perhaps he stepped in the way when he grabbed for Erren. Shang Tsung merely grabbed the wrong person."

Another silence. Erren felt her face warm, and she decided that staring at the ground was going to somehow help it cool off. As much as she wanted that to be true, it was far too…nice of an act for Scorpion to commit. Even for her. Save her life – sure. Being captured for her? That was a stretch.

Or was it? She thought back to when they were all in her room. Scorpion _had_ seemed distracted, but that was probably because he was angry about something or other, as he usually was. But when the flash happened, Erren _had_ seen him move, well, before she was blinded.

"_Can_ that happen?" Johnny asked, his voice the sound of Erren's own confusion. It was a rather…amateur-ish thing to do for someone who – apparently – was so powerful.

Raiden placed a hand under his chin. "Well…"

"Oh come _on_," Sonya laughed. "You're actually taking that into consideration? Scorpion wouldn't do that for anyone, let alone _her_."

Raiden looked at Sonya, his face unreadable. "He's risked his own life to save hers before. Why would this be any different?"

Erren turned her attention to the ground again, not wanting to see everyone looking at her.

Thankfully everyone remained silent for a while…

* * *

Scorpion had forgotten how boring sitting in a cell was. Even with the pain in his middle – no thanks to Shang Tsung's stupid ass – it was still boring. It was sad. Scorpion didn't feel in danger, which was a big tip off that it was _big_ _trouble_.

_Perhaps Raiden and his cheery crew will stop the crazy bastard before Erren's even _really_ involved?_ Scorpion gave himself a moment to think about what he was hoping for and knew he was hoping for too much. Shang Tsung had a way with producing the most hard to kill creatures.

And besides, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and Sub-Zero? The three wouldn't get along even if they _had_ to. Which, they did, if Raiden had anything to do with it, and Scorpion was sure he did.

_They need other fighters_. Scorpion sighed and stared at the floor, wishing he was free. When had he become so…_human_ again? Usually he'd be _working_ for Shang Tsung, now he was his prisoner because Scorpion – in one of his not so shining moments – had took a step forward.

_Is she worth it?_

Scorpion growled, carefully repositioning himself to lean against the wall. That was a very good question, and one that he did not know the answer to.

So, he ignored it and went back to his former train of thought.

He wondered if Raiden would call upon anyone else to help. Scorpion would, even if he hated working with others. Shang Tsung was up to something big – he had been told so, after all, so he knew – and big things usually required a lot of fighters. Even if the old sorcerer's scheme seemed ridiculous, he would find a way to make it happen somehow.

And that would be an even _bigger_ problem.

End of chapter nine

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(A/N: Alright! Whoo hoo! Update, yay me! This'll probably be the only one for a little while, well, until school's out. Summer's coming, so I'll have some time to write all of my stuff. :) I hope you all enjoyed this. Honestly, the only thing this chapter did was promise the introduction of more characters! I won't tell you who, either! You can guess though! lol)

Red


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